The Ghost of Christmas Present
by Olivia Dunham
Summary: When Jack is drunk in a bar, a certain blonde angel comes to his rescue. But will he remember any of it in the morning? For LOST Secret Santa Fic Exchange. To Northern Sky.


A/N: Well, here's my piece for the LOST Secret Santa! This is for Northern Sky! Hope you enjoy!

XXX

The music was upbeat, and extremely loud as Jack downed what had to be his third shot in less than five minutes. Everything to him was blurred, and very hard to concentrate on – it was a wonder that he was actually hitting his mouth whenever he took a drink.

"Sir, I think you've had enough for one night." The bartender said when jack asked for another shot of whatever he had been drinking – he didn't rightly know, but it tasted good and numbed everything. He liked being numb – it made him forget. Forget everything about the island, and everything he had left behind. At least until he woke up the next morning. Then all the memories would come back, as would a pounding headache.

"I-I'll t…tell you when I have had enough." Jack muttered. "Now get – get me another one!"

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm cutting you off."

Jack got to his feet angrily, sending his empty glass flying to the floor where it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Nobody around him seemed to notice – not even he noticed, until his face met the floor. He had hit the ground, too drunk to stand up straight or even yell at the bartender for cutting him off for drinks.

"My – being back in the real world hasn't been too good for you, has it Jack?"

He looked up, or at least attempted to. But it was dark, and hard to focus as he rolled over on his side, slight bits of glass stuck to his face and burning slightly as they cut into his skin.

"Come on – lets get you some fresh air and get you cleaned up." The voice said and a soft, warm, hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, where he could barely stand.

With ease, Juliet Burke placed his arm around her shoulders and began to help him toward the exit.

As they passed under the lamp that lit up the entrance to the bar, Jack finally got a good look at her face, and nearly stumbled in shock.

"J…Juliet? What are you-you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be, back on that island?" He asked, his words slurring slightly. She just smiled and helped him to his car – how she knew which was his, he never would have guessed. She was prettier than what he had seen her before – her hair fell around her shoulders, haloing her face. She wore a white sweater dress, and reminded Jack of an angel, almost. She settled him into the passenger's seat like a child, making sure he was buckled up safely. She had somehow gotten his keys out of his pocket and was now sliding into the driver's seat, starting the engine.

"Answer my question." Jack stated as they soon were zooming down the highway silently toward his apartment – she knew where he lived? "How are you here?"

"You don't honestly want to know, Jack." Juliet replied to him, in an almost bitter tone. But it was quickly replaced with one of softness. "You don't need to know, is what I mean. It's better if you don't."

"But if…-if you're off, what a-about the others?"

Slowly, she shook her head as she concentrated on the road in front of her – having not driven a car for three years, Jack was impressed she wasn't speeding like a mad-demon down the street. He fell silent, his head already beginning to get a headache built up. He tried to focus on the fact that he had small droplets of blood rolling down his cheek from where he had landed in the smashed bits of glass when he had fallen. He pressed his hand to his cheek and winced.

"Don't do that, you'll make it worse." Juliet said quietly, suddenly at his door. He hadn't realized they had reached his apartment. She helped him out and up the stairs, into the mess he called an apartment. Shutting the door with her foot, she helped him over to the couch and let him sit down as she wandered silently into the bathroom down the hall. He moved in an out of an unconscious state, the alcohol in his system taking its effect.

But Juliet soon returned, a glass of water in one hand, a washcloth and tweezers in the other. She set them down on the coffee table and sat on the couch next to him.

"Are you going to be a good patient so I can get the bits of glass out?"

He nodded and she smiled.

"Good."

They sat in silence for a moment; the only sound was when the small bits of glass hit the table as Juliet pulled them out, one by one.

"Jack, I have to admit, I'm not here just to rescue you from giving yourself alcohol poisoning." She said quietly after a moment. He sighed – there was always something.

He gestured for her to continue as he winced as another piece of glass was dislodged from his cheek.

"I'm here to tell you that you have to come back Jack. To the island. Save us." Juliet said, and set the tweezers down, picking up the washcloth and dipping it in the water, pressing it to his cheek to get rid of the extra blood.

"But you're already off the Island." He pointed out, his eyes closed at the coldness of the washcloth upon his flushed skin. She chuckled ever so slightly, and glanced to the corner, where he had set up a Christmas tree – it was a bit ragged looking, but none the less it was a Christmas tree. She smiled slightly – she had missed Christmas. But she focused her attention back on Jack.

"I think it's time you went to bed, Jack. After all, it's Christmas Eve and you haven't slept in days."

"How'd you know that, Juliet?"

She just smiled and pushed him back down on the couch, tucking one of the pillows under his head. He mumbled something unintelligible, but was asleep in moments. Juliet smiled and tossed a blanket over him and took one last look at the tree, before she seemed to disappear into thin air.

X

Jack jerked up, the blanket covering him falling to the floor as he fumbled to get it off of him. He ran a hand over his face, his head splitting with a headache. He sighed and managed to get to his feet, moving in the general direction of the bathroom. He downed two Tylenol and looked at his reflection in the mirror – several small cuts remained on his cheek.

It was then he remembered Juliet.

He nearly ran back into the living room, but there was no sign of her – the washcloth, bits of glass, and glass of water were gone. He frowned, but something sitting on one of the branches of his poor tree caught his eye. It was a note card, with a razor tied to it with a red ribbon. Grabbing it, he unfolded it, his eyes scanning the writing.

Jack,

Don't forget what I said. You must come back. And do me a favor – shave that beard on your face. It doesn't suit you.

Happy Christmas

Juliet

XXX

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it!


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